Rating: 
Summary: A literary marvel. Rates 100 stars.
Review: Amy, Amy, Amy. I have adored every Amy Tan book so far, and this is no exception. Although I thought it was going to be. It starts out in present day, and I thought "Oh, bummer. I miss the magic." The magic is her uncanny ability to open a window to China's past and hand us a passport that lets us stand there and feel the earth beneath our feet. What a gift she has. And then -- lo and behold -- she does it again! There we are, in the past, living with the characters in true Amy Tan style. This is like poetry -- smooth as silk, rough as broken glass. And so realistic. Her characterization of bullies hits home; it reminds me so much of some I've known. And the heart-piercingly accurate portrayal of Alzheimer's was done so tenderly it made me weep. What an excellent writer she is! Most memorable line: "We are divine, unchanged by time." This is a love story, a story of survival and of family. It's really several stories intertwined (nothing new for Amy). Amy is one of the best artists we have living today. Write more, Amy!!
Rating: 
Summary: daily life intertwined with fantastic....things!
Review: I'm not the best at reveiws, but i know that I read this book in 4 days- amazing for a working college student! I could barely put it down. it involved simple daily life, but it wasn't dull. The history of the families in this book were fascinating and touching, all mysteris came into place. I like reading asian-american literature and would recommend it, better then joy luck club i think
Rating:
Summary: Moving story following the generations of women
Review: I picked this book on a whim and was moved to tears by Amy Tan's loving adaptation of relationships within several generations of women. The Bonesetter's Daughter was a beautifully written story that I really enjoyed reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Cashing in on a familiar formula
Review: As a fan of Amy Tan's work, I was deeply disappointed in what I can only describe as a derivative, unoriginal, and uninspired chip off the Amy Tan template. If you've read her previous novels, don't expect anything new here. In fact, Tan's writing skills seems to have eroded, becoming more bland and cliched. Meanwhile, it seems she has been running out of ideas, milking the "mother-daughter" theme quite dry. The storyline is compelling, and in particular the story of Precious Auntie has the potential to be heart-rending -- but my problem here is that I've heard it all before, and everything that transpires, including the narrative structure of the story, is predictible. The gratuitous intervention of Luck in the conclusion is egregiously unbelievable.If you're new to Amy Tan, perhaps this merits 3 or 4 stars -- but in that case, I would recommend "The Joy Luck Club" (still, I believe, her most ambitious if not best work) and "The Kitchen God's Wife"). Otherwise, this book left me concerned that one of my favorite authors is losing steam and inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: If you liked Kitchen God's Wife, You'll Love Her Latest
Review: As emotionally evocative and captivating as Kitchen God's Wife. Bonesetter's Daughter has all the magic and mystery that is Tan's signature style. Some reviewers have complained about Tan's ongoing attachment to the Chinese-born mother,American-born daughter theme, but having read all of her books, it is fair to say that her rendering of the theme is unique in each book. As always, her writing style is exquisite and she's a talented storyteller and story crafter.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and Enjoyable
Review: Amy Tan has given us another in a series of comforting reads focusing on the relationship of mothers and daughters in the California Asian-American community. I agree with other reviewers here that I wish she would branch out a bit--but her staying with what she knows does not take away from the enjoyability of Bonesetter's Daughter. Ruth is a modern woman who loves, and to a certain extent, loathes, her mother. Her mother, as well, had a very difficult relationship with her own mother. The Bonesetter's Daughter focuses on these relationships and tells an interesting story--one that keeps those pages turning. I enjoyed reading the novel. It's a quick, engaging read--particularly the part of the novel where Ruth's mother gets to tell her own story. Tan isn't breaking any new ground here--but I've said before--you don't have to read War and Peace all the time. Enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Time Lost
Review: Having had the opportunity to see Amy Tan's work, "The Joy Luck Club," I eagerly plowed into "The Bonsetter's Daughter," expecting to be moved and transported to a different time and culture -- I was not disappointed. Ms Tan shone through brilliantly with vivid details of the life of the character LuLing. From LuLing's childhood in China raised under the watchful eye of Precious Auntie, to LuLing's realization that Precious Auntie is actually Precious Mother. It is a story of time lost forever between a mother and daughter, and once lost it can never be recaptured. LuLing suffers much in this dramatic story and is forever haunted by her past and her much-too-late discovery of her true loss. This carries over into her relationship with her own daughter, Ruth, a ghost-writer or 'word-doctor' as she jokingly is referred to. Abound with miscommunications, coupled with old world superstitutions, LuLing and Ruth never seem to be solidly on the same page. Unfortunately it is only near the end of this touching story, and at the point when LuLing is rapidly losing her memories, that these two women finally bond -- too late.
Rating:
Summary: Mothers and Daughters, Love and Loss
Review: Amy Tan is an excellent writer, though she does seem to need to write about the same thing time and time again from every perspective, i.e., the relationship between first-generation Chinese daughters and their immigrant mothers. While "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is an excellent book and quite well-written, I, for one, wish Tan would choose another subject for her next book. She's talented and I'm curious. "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is the story of Ruth Young and her mother, LuLing, a woman who is in the first stages of Alzheimer's. The book is written in a frame, with the opening and closing chapters belonging to Ruth, the middle to LuLing. Ruth, who has the unenviable job of ghostwriting self-help books that probably cause more harm than good, is cleaning her mother's duplex when she makes what will prove to be a very important and life-affirming discovery: a packet of papers, divided into two groups and written in Chinese calligraphy that detail LuLing's life in China as well as the life of her mother, a woman LuLing knew as "Precious Auntie." The title of this book refers to Ruth's grandmother, the daughter of a famous bonesetter from Xian Xin, the family village. With the help of a translator, Ruth discovers that her family had been bonesetters for nine hundred years, something of which they were very proud. LuLing's mother suffered greatly early in life; both her fiance and her father were killed. Distraught and pregnant, "Precious Auntie" decided to take her own life. She failed in the attempt, but succeeded in scarring her face both terribly and permanently. The family that were to become her in-laws took her into their own home where LuLing was claimed by "Precious Auntie's" dead finace's aunt, with "Precious Auntie" being relegated to the role of nursemaid. In what seems an extremely cruel twist of fate, LuLing learns about her parentage only when "Precious Auntie" stages a rather spectacular suicide rather than see her daughter married to the wrong man. After this, follows a marriage and a murder, a religious conversion and LuLing's emigration to California where she finds love, or what passes for love, only to be left alone...again. All of this may sound rather melodramatic. If it does, you obviously haven't read Amy Tan for melodrama is not among her devices. Her books tend to be quiet revelations that pull us in because we care about the characters involved, not because of the events themselves. Ruth's life hasn't made much more sense than has LuLing's, despite her struggle to understand and come to grips with both fear and loss. As Ruth pieces together the puzzle of her mother's life, she pieces together the puzzle of her own as well. Like most daughters, once they reach adulthood, Ruth realizes all too late how easy it would have been to be the daughter her mother wanted and give her mother the happiness she both craved and deserved. "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is a rich, complex and multi-layered novel. It is filled with small details that make it come alive and the characters are fully-realized, lovable and believable. Even the more fantastic parts of LuLing's narrative are believable. Tan writes very clearly and very well. I didn't care for the ending of "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and I think some other readers will find it a little jarring as well. It just didn't seem to fit the character of the book. This is, after all, a book about love and loss. I do enjoy Amy Tan's writing. It's mannerly, in a quiet sort of way; there is absolutely nothing in it to offend. It is because of her high quality writing that I keep coming back to her books despite the fact that I wish she would write about something else other than the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships and the loss inherent in them. That, however, is a quibble. "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is a lovely book about lovely people who are stuggling make sense of their lives and the world around them. Despite its recycled theme, "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is still going to be better than ninety percent of what you'll probably read in a lifetime. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: :-)
Review: I found the Bonesetter's Daughter to be captivating and entertaining. The story is about Ruth and her relationship with her Chinese born mother, LuLing. LuLing has had an interesting past, which she wrote down just prior to coming down with Alzheimer's Dementia. The Bonestetter's Daughter follows Ruth as she begins to discover who her mother really is and how that influenced Ruth's own development. I couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: 4 Stars
Review: I've read Amy Tan in the past and found her writing very appealing. I was very excited to read this book and was happy that I did, but I can't say it was the greatest thing I've ever read. I found the book very easy to read and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and learning about their lives, especially LuLing! I have to say though, that when I finished the book I was simply left with a feeling of "ok...I'm done." I'm not saying that you shouldn't read this book, but there was something that was just not there for me. It is definitely not a waste of time though, so if it sounds interesting to you, I say give it a shot!
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